American Gardens, Inc.

7th year as a Best Pick

"American Gardens strongly stands behind its company philosophy, 'Creativity, craftsmanship, and care.' We provide truly inspired designs, installation with skilled craftsmanship, and horticultural garden care to make sure that your garden grows and flourishes. We would like to be part of your landscape for years to come."

Areas Served:

American Gardens offers landscape architecture and design, installation, lighting, and garden care. The company considers sustainability in all aspects of design and installation.

Minimum Job

American Gardens' job minimums include $10,000 for installations, $500 for maintenance, and a fee for designs.

Awards & Certifications

American Gardens has been featured in Better Homes and Gardens publications. Company cofounder Dan Wanzung is a past president of the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association, and his partner, Jerry Milewski, has earned The Naturalist Certificate from the Morton Arboretum.

Company History

Jerry and Dan founded the company in 1991. Both partners graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with degrees in landscape architecture.

Select Quotes from Customer Interviews

A selection of 84 homeowner reviews:

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American Gardens was great. They did a terrific job. They were very personable and very thorough. They listened to what we requested and wanted, and they were very attentive and very accommodating to us. They did a landscape plan—they just did the design; they did not do the installation. I found the company through Best Pick Reports. I'd give them an A.

They did a great job. They installed hardscaping and did landscaping. I've been working with them for about eight years for my landscaping, and they've done a couple of different projects for me. Their customer service is excellent and consistent. I'd give them an A.

I liked their attention to detail, their workmanship, their overall plan, and their suggestions for solving problems. They've done both hardscaping and planting for us over a ten-year period. There were different projects and different jobs. I took a class that Jerry was teaching on hardscaping, and that is where I met them. I'd rate American Gardens as an A+.

They were courteous, quick, knowledgeable, and very professional. They were thoughtful about what I was looking for. They did a couple of things. First, they did a plan for our yard, and then they also planted some trees for us. I chose them over a different company because our neighbor had used them years ago; we were looking for somebody to help us out with a plan, and we liked what they had done for our neighbor. I'd give them an A+.

They were really good about making sure they did everything according to what we wanted done and how we planned it, so it came out very well. They put in ten to fifteen bushes and plants and then redid some flower beds. I'd give them an A+.

We worked with American Gardens before, and they're very good about following up, listening to what we want them to do, and coming up with good ideas and solutions to problems that we have. We had spring cleanup done this year, and we asked them to do some extra work because we were getting the house ready to sell, and they did. I've been using them for probably about ten years. I'd rate their company as an A.

The people that were doing the work smiled, and they were very pleasant, efficient, and thoughtful. They redid our front lawn—they took out shrubs, put in other shrubs, and redesigned it. They get an A.

American Gardens actually took over another business that we were working with. It was landscaping—we have a large acreage, so we had a company come in and put wiring in the ground so that we could light our trees at different dimensions and at different lengths. Some are going up and some are going down to show the dimensions of the woods that we live in. They bought the company that we worked with, and that's how we have been working with them for probably the last two years. They do our lights. We have had an absolutely good experience working with them. They're very receptive in terms of turnaround time when they come out if something needs to be fixed or repaired. Their response time is very good, and their customer service is very good. I'd give them an A rating.

They're consistent and talented. We have a little over an acre, and they've been working for about three years on general maintenance around the property. I found the company through a friend. I'd give them the top grade.

American Gardens designed a landscape plan so that all season long something is always blooming—all the perennials, the bushes, everything. Something will always be flowering, and it's really awesome. By them taking care of it, it's worry-free; it just automatically looks great. They make sure that everything works out perfectly. I've been using them for ten years, and I'd give them an A+, no question.